From the files of Kosciusko County Historical Society:

Editor’s note: This is a new column that will appear a few times a month on Monday mornings.

Oct. 27, 1832 — The lands lying within the present limits of Kosciusko County (as of 1954) were ceded to the United States Oct. 27, 1832. The president of the commission was former Indiana Gov. Jonathan Jennings. The agent for the Native Americans was Gen. John Tipton. The principal chiefs were Flatbelly, Wawasee and his brother Musquabuck.

Map of Kosciusko County circa 1879, the closest date to the county ceding to the US in 1839. (Map provided.)

The treaty was registered about three miles from the then present site of Rochester on the south bank of the Tippecanoe River, three-quarters of a mile from where the Michigan Road crosses the stream. The treaty was ratified Jan. 21, 1833. The county boundary was established on Feb. 7, 1835, and the county organized in April 1836.

At the session of the General Assembly of 1834-35, the boundaries of Kosciusko County were defined and established. This county was named by John B. Chapman in honor of Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a Polish noble, who came to America and served under Gen. George Washington for America’s freedom.

Quite a large number of Native Americans were residents of the county when the first settlements were made. Most of the Indian lands had been ceded to the general government, yet several tribes of the Miami and Pottawatomi nations held tracts in the county.

Oct. 30, 1957 — Many months of planning by Warsaw Chamber of Commerce representatives neared a climax today as R.R. Donnelley and Sons, of Chicago, announced an agreement had been reached to purchase land in the Warsaw area for possible future construction of a multi-million dollar printing plant.

The agreement involves approximately 140 acres of land west of the Phillips’ Addition, located on U.S. 30 about 1-1/2 miles west of the city limits.

Oct. 29, 1964 — The South Shore Inn on Lake Wawasee was destroyed by fire at 3:53 a.m. today. Loss of the 60-room, two-story, 44-year-old structure was estimated at a quarter of a million dollars.

Information for this retrospective series is courtesy of the Kosciusko County Historical Society. For more history of Kosciusko County in the news visit yesteryear.clunette.com

The landmark was owned by Commercial Investments Inc. of Gary and was one of the two remaining hotels on Indiana’s largest natural lake. Johnson’s Hotel, located near the State Fish Hatchery, remains.

Oct. 29, 1977 — A six-car derailment on north-south ConRail line (old Big Four) through Warsaw early today ripped up tracks and backed up rail traffic for several hours. However, there were no injuries. The mishap occurred at 1:32 a.m. on the tracks where they cross the east-west line near Little Crow Foods.

Although the exact cause is not known, a broken wheel assembly is thought to have started the derailment on the third car behind the engine of the northbound train.